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Thursday, May 21, 2015

My Safe Place

This afternoon, the sanctity of my local JoAnn Fabric Store was destroyed by a gang of loud frat boys. There were six of them terrorizing the fabric aisles.

When I hear fellow customers asking questions like “how much yardage do I need?”, etc., my first impulse is to help - because, let’s be honest, the employees in a big box craft store are retail employees and generally have very little knowledge of their wares. This is not their fault, it's just the way it is. And if I have the answer to someone’s question, I would like to help.

I started to turn the corner to make a suggestion when the brutes started saying some very off-putting things. Who knew being surrounded by fabric could be so threatening to someone’s masculinity? I decided to retreat into the linen blend aisle and let them figure things out for themselves.

After a long and rather stressful day at work, I just wanted to zone out and look at floral prints and maybe wander through the aisles of beads or buttons. But that was not in the cards . . .

As soon as I returned home, I pulled out this project. The only noise to bother me was the chihuahua snoring on the other side of the couch . . . which is a sound that I find rather endearing!

House of Fabrics in the late 1980's, he wanted to put velcro down the sides of his pants and make a tail. I was the lucky sales associate to help him. Also, one day a woman came in , sat down at the pattern book table and popped open a beer. She stayed until it was gone and left the can. This was in Glendale, California.

Using the pattern table as a bar - that’s a new one! I guess she had nowhere else to go?! I did have a glass of champagne in Britex a few years ago at a book signing . . .

About 10 years ago I was in Jo Ann Fabrics and a couple approached me and wanted my thoughts on scissors. When I look up at the guy, he was missing teeth, sweating profusely, and had wounds all over his face in various states of scabbing over. Clearly, he was some kind of methamphetamine addict. If the thought of this guy with sharp objects was not enough make me want to run away, one of the wounds on his face started dripping blood onto his grubby white t-shirt while I was trying to extricate myself from the situation. He was very polite, but the blood splattering on his stained shirt right before my eyes was too much to take!

It's sad that I can relate 1. I had to show one of the Joann employee behind the cutting counter how to spread out and lay the fabric correct or it will be off grain. She frowned at me, and I said that lets me know you don't sew, if you did you would understand the "little mistake" you were about to make, would become a big one for me later. (the manger came over and said I was right and to do what I asked). 2. I get hit on by more guys at Joann's then any other place.....

About Me

Chronicling my adventures in creativity. I adore sewing and knitting, mostly vintage or vintage-inspired patterns. I hope this blog will inspire others to create lovely and lasting garments that speak of a past era and yet remain timeless and elegant.